Safehouse Records

Safehouse Records was an American record label established in 2015 by recording artists Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas together with their manager Phil McIntyre. The label was presented as an artist-oriented venture intended to give musicians greater control over their creative work while also supplying professional tools and support for the management of their careers. Its formation reflected a period in which established performers were increasingly exploring label structures that could combine artist participation with the resources of larger music companies. The company was publicly announced on May 26, 2015. Its initial artist roster centered on its two artist founders, Lovato and Jonas. Safehouse's first official album release was Lovato's fifth studio album, Confident, issued in 2015. The album served as the label's first major public product and connected the new imprint to Lovato's continuing recording career. The label subsequently released Nick Jonas X2, a reissue of Jonas's self-titled second studio album, extending Safehouse's activity to another founder's catalog. Safehouse also developed an interest in publishing and artist acquisition beyond its two principals. On December 15, 2015, the label announced that it had signed Chord Overstreet. The agreement also included Overstreet's placement with Safehouse Publishing, indicating that the enterprise was intended to encompass both recorded music and publishing-related representation or rights administration. Overstreet became the principal publicly identified outside artist associated with the label. The label's operating life was brief. Safehouse Records became defunct in July 2018 after Lovato ended her professional relationship with McIntyre while she was undertaking the Tell Me You Love Me World Tour. The end of that management relationship was closely associated with the dissolution of the label's operating structure. No continuing Safehouse catalog, headquarters, independent website, or successor corporate organization is identified in the available reference material. Lovato later returned to the label-imprint model through DLG Recordings, announced in 2023. DLG Recordings is a separate venture rather than a continuation of Safehouse Records, with Island Records providing distribution and music services for Lovato's forthcoming releases. Safehouse therefore remains best understood as a short-lived artist-founded label whose principal documented releases were associated with Lovato and Jonas and whose business model emphasized artist control, career support, and a combined recording-and-publishing platform.

Safehouse Records emerged in 2015 as an artist-founded label created by Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas, and their manager Phil McIntyre. The venture was publicly announced on May 26, 2015. Its stated purpose was to put artists in a stronger position over their creative work while giving them access to tools and professional support for managing their careers. This concept placed Safehouse within a broader shift toward artist-participation models in the recorded-music business, although the available record does not identify a larger corporate parent or provide detailed information about its financing or distribution arrangements. The label's initial identity was closely tied to its founders. Lovato and Jonas were both recording artists as well as principals in the enterprise, allowing the imprint to launch with releases connected to established careers rather than an unknown roster. Safehouse's first official album was Lovato's fifth studio album, Confident, released in 2015. The album represented the label's first substantial public release and made Lovato's work the initial center of its recorded-music activity. The label then issued Nick Jonas X2, a reissue of Jonas's self-titled second album, giving the other artist-founder a comparable release associated with the imprint. Safehouse's documented activity was not limited entirely to the founders. On December 15, 2015, it announced the signing of Chord Overstreet. The agreement also involved Safehouse Publishing, suggesting that the label sought to operate across both recording and publishing rather than functioning solely as a release imprint. Overstreet is the principal publicly documented external artist associated with the label. The available source material does not provide a full release chronology, detailed publishing roster, or information about the label's staff, offices, distribution contracts, or financial performance. The label's existence ended in July 2018. The reported turning point was Lovato's complete separation from McIntyre as her manager during the Tell Me You Love Me World Tour. Because McIntyre was one of Safehouse's three founders and Lovato was another, the breakdown of that professional relationship removed the central management and artist partnership on which the label had been built. Safehouse was consequently treated as defunct. The available sources do not describe a sale, formal merger, bankruptcy proceeding, or transfer of the brand to another company. In 2023, Lovato created DLG Recordings, a new imprint for subsequent music activity. Island Records was identified as providing distribution and music services for the upcoming releases associated with that imprint. DLG Recordings is a later and separate venture, not a documented reactivation of Safehouse Records. Safehouse's historical significance therefore rests on its brief experiment with artist ownership and control, its small publicly known roster, and its association with the 2015 releases Confident and Nick Jonas X2.

• 2023

  Separate DLG Recordings imprint created

  [1]Safehouse Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Demi Lovato later established DLG Recordings, with Island Records supplying distribution and music services.

• 2018

  Label becomes defunct

  [1]Safehouse Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Safehouse ceased operating after Lovato severed ties with co-founder and manager Phil McIntyre.

• 2015

  Label announced

  [1]Safehouse Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas, and Phil McIntyre publicly announced Safehouse Records on May 26, presenting it as an artist-oriented label.

• 2015

  Confident is released

  [1]Safehouse Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Demi Lovato's fifth studio album became Safehouse Records' first official album release.

• 2015

  Chord Overstreet signing announced

  [1]Safehouse Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Safehouse announced the signing of Chord Overstreet and his association with Safehouse Publishing.

An artist-led record label designed to give artists greater control over their work while providing recording, career-management, and publishing support.

• Studio album · 2015

  Confident

  Demi Lovato's fifth studio album and the first official album released through Safehouse Records. It served as the label's initial flagship recording and established the imprint's launch around one of its artist-founders.

• Album reissue · 2015

  Nick Jonas X2

  A reissue of Nick Jonas's self-titled second studio album and the documented follow-up to Safehouse Records' first release. It extended the label's early catalog to the work of its other artist-founder.

• Music publishing · 2015

  Safehouse Publishing

  The publishing branch associated with Safehouse Records. Its publicly documented activity includes the 2015 signing of Chord Overstreet alongside his recording-artist agreement.

• 2018

  End Safehouse's operationsStrategy

  Background

  Lovato ended her professional relationship with Phil McIntyre while on the Tell Me You Love Me World Tour.

  Action taken

  Safehouse ceased operating and was subsequently described as defunct.

  Aftermath

  Lovato later pursued a separate imprint, DLG Recordings, rather than reviving Safehouse.

  Source

• 2015

  Adopt an artist-control label modelStrategy

  Background

  The founders established Safehouse around the idea that artists should have greater control over their creative work while receiving professional tools for career management.

  Action taken

  Lovato, Jonas, and McIntyre launched an artist-led record label and later supplemented its recorded-music activity with a publishing branch.

  Aftermath

  The model produced documented releases by Lovato and Jonas and a signing involving Chord Overstreet, but the label became defunct in 2018.

  Source

• 2015

  Launch the label with ConfidentProduct launch

  Background

  Safehouse needed an initial major release to establish its public identity and catalog.

  Action taken

  Demi Lovato's fifth studio album, Confident, was released as the label's first official album.

  Aftermath

  The release made Lovato's recording career the initial centerpiece of Safehouse's catalog.

  Source

1. 1Safehouse Recordsen.wikipedia.org